


Birthday Cuddles

by Coop500



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Couch Cuddles, F/M, Fluff, Light Romance, No one gets eaten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28692606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coop500/pseuds/Coop500
Summary: Rodney attempts to get Jennifer a gift for her birthday with the help of his friends.
Relationships: Jennifer Keller/Rodney McKay
Kudos: 6





	Birthday Cuddles

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all~ I have... another story here~ Aaannnd no one gets eaten?! How weird! Atleast.... not on screen >.> <.<
> 
> There's some vague foreshadowing of a 3-4 story series I am planning for Stargate Atlantis in this. But for now, have some wholesome Rodney and Jennifer fluff. I hope I got everyone in-character here, I must admit McKay was probably the hardest. John so far seems to come pretty easily and Dr Keller isn't too hard, but of course I decided to make Rodney the main character lol. 
> 
> My first real attempt at like... relationship/romance stuff, so sorry it's a little rough.  
> This was actually a birthday gift for my mother today, she likes Stargate and pretty much all these characters, so it's a littttle out of order from my planned story series but, I'll work it out.

Rodney McKay was in his lab, working on yet another project that most of the other crew didn't really understand. It wasn't anything dire for once, though perhaps to Rodney it was plenty dire.

"Shouldn't you be thinking about what to get Dr. Keller for her birthday tomorrow?" His co-worker, Zelenka, asked.

McKay paused... Then he blinked, turning his gaze to a simple calendar on the wall across from him. Oh no, he was right, her birthday was tomorrow!

"Oh boy..." Rodney said as he closed his laptop after quickly saving whatever progress he managed to make.

Then he proceeded to panic.

"What am I going to do? I have nothing for her! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Rodney scolded the other man, which just earned him a tired roll of the eyes. Figures McKay would somehow blame Zelenka for getting engrossed in his own work so much, he forgot his own girlfriend's birthday. Zelenka didn't even bother responding, just muttered something in Czech under his breath and went back to his own work.

Rodney ran a hand through his hair, what was he going to get for Jennifer? He tried to think of what she'd like, but was drawing up a huge blank. He could get her some medical supplies, but she had everything she really needed. Whatever she didn't have, there wasn't really anything he could do to fix that.

Sheppard, he had dealt with women before and Rodney would consider them good friends at this point. Maybe he could help?

"Any idea where Sheppard is?" He asked Zelenka.

The tired man looked up from his computer, almost surprised that Rodney was still here. "Dunno, sorry."

McKay sighed and waved dismissively to him. "Of course, why would you be of any help?" He stated with a condescending tone.

He'll just have to find someone else more helpful, or find Sheppard on his own. So he turned to the exit of the lab and headed out into the hallway. As he left though, he was starting to get nervous about this whole thing.

A good few minutes passed as Rodney wandered the halls of Atlantis, looking for his friend, or someone who might know where he is. He walked with hesitant steps, eyes darting around, wringing his hands as he searched. His mind swirled with thoughts about how he was going to ask Sheppard his question without totally embarrassing himself.

He kept walking, up until he spotted Ronon Dex outside the training room. They were not exactly the closest of friends, but McKay knew that John and him often sparred together.

"H-hey, Ronon?" He asked, inwardly cringing to himself at the stutter he let slip out.

Ronon turned to look at the scientist, not saying a word. But he quirked one eyebrow as he waited for McKay to spill what he wanted.

"Do you know where Sheppard is?" He asked, speaking quicker than he would have liked.

The taller male shrugged and patted his neck with a towel. "Probably on that tiny people planet with the bad snowstorm, eating some frozen orphans." Ronon said with such casual bluntness, that Rodney almost filled in 'eating' with 'protecting' or any other better fitting word as that's what his brain TOLD him what that sentence should have been. But he still caught it.

"Excuse me but did you say.... eating?" McKay asked, his voice gaining a slightly higher pitch at the last word. "Dr. Keller said t-the mutations might cause alterations in his behavior, but... " McKay paused with a disturbed look on his face. He knew his friend wouldn't normally hurt an innocent person, especially tiny folk, what could they have done wrong? He felt sick to his stomach, dreadful thoughts of the whale in his nightmares started to fill his head. But maybe it was just his anxiety making him hear things that weren't said. He was gravely hoping that was the case.

Ronon smirked. "Oops, did I say eating? I meant escorting back to Atlantis, at least until the storm passes." He explained, but there was a smug air about him, like he knew something McKay didn't, or purposely did that to startle him.

But he didn't notice, he was just glad to have his fears disproved. "Oh whew, okay, you scared me there for a second." He laughed nervously, before he continued. "I need to talk to him, any idea when he'll be back?" Rodney asked, still anxious just from the preparation of what he was going to ask Sheppard. He knew he would get teased and razzed but he hoped in between all that, there would be some helpful information.

Ronon shrugged again and turned away. "No clue." He said, seeming to already be bored with the conversation.

"Right..." McKay lightly hit his own palm with his other hand in a fist. "I'll just... wait at the gate room, I guess." He rambled awkwardly, before he turned and returned to walking down the hallway. It was always hard to tell if Ronon was serious about the stuff he said, or if it was his attempt at humor.

He glanced at everyone that walked by, but none of them were Sheppard yet, still it looked like something was going down. Maybe they just got back? He hoped so. McKay picked up the space to hurry down the hallway, hoping there were no complications with the mission. It was a simple escort and there wasn't even any wraith to worry about.

Rodney just entered the gate room when Carson rushed by him with his arms full of little people.

"No time to talk, I gotta tend to these little ones." He told McKay before he could even breathe a word out. He held up a finger and gaped quietly, before he lowered his hand and shook his head.

Teyla soon rushed by him into the hallway as well, towards the med bay, with another armful. "Sorry, I got to help Carson." She called back. He stumbled when she accidentally bumped into him, but she hardly missed a step.

Rodney then walked down the stairs just in time to see Sheppard come through the stargate, dusted with snow. But his arms were free, aside from the usual gun he carried. "Ahh you're back, perfect timing!" McKay announced, stepping up to start asking his question.

"Not now Rodney, I need to drop off something first with Carson. Then we can talk, okay?" John told him, giving a light pat on his shoulder. He then watched as John started to open all the pockets in his vest, soon revealing to be full of the little people from the planet. Rodney stood there in silence, a bit at awe at just HOW tiny they were. He heard about them but didn't see one very well until now. They were only about a few inches tall, most of them looking nervous or unsure.

"Hey, mind giving me a hand? It's hard to hold onto all these little guys, and we don't want to drop them." John asked.

Rodney shook his head to snap out of his daze and focus. "R-right, sorry, here I'll hold some." He held out his hands for John to gently lay some of them on. They looked a bit wary of McKay, but didn't put up a fuss. The smaller ones, who he was pretty sure could actually be children, looked around the gate room in awe. But their parents would silently coax them back from the edges of his hands. Which he was thankful for, he did not want to get blamed if one of them fell off.

"Okay let's get to the Med Bay, thanks Rodney."

McKay gave an awkward smile and followed John down the hallway, holding his hands out a bit farther than normal. He felt weird bringing the people close to him, so he quite literally held them out at arm's length. Sheppard didn't seem to notice, or at least, he didn't say anything. Once they made it to the Med Bay, Rodney saw Carson checking on some of the folks, while John carefully set his load on one of the other tables nearby. McKay was surprised to hear one of them even thanked Sheppard. He wasn't sure if they could even speak, but apparently they could. They were just so small... it was truly amazing. If it wasn't Dr. Keller's birthday tomorrow, he'd be begging to harmlessly study one of them.

Rodney walked up to the table and awkwardly laid the few he had down. He felt relief to no longer be literally holding their lives in his hands, it was far too much responsibility for his comfort. He saw one of them wave at him though and he found himself awkwardly waving back.

"Thanks fellas, I can take it from here." Carson told the other two men as he smiled and gently ushered one of the little folk he was checking up on to join the rest of her people.

"Alright, it's no problem." John answered back and Rodney soon grabbed Sheppard's shoulder and led him back into the hallway.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Sheppard protested but Rodney stopped once they were in a wider spot in the hallway.

"Now that you're done with that. I need your help." McKay turned to face John, letting him go but seemed very expectant. Truth was, he was acting his usual, smug self in hopes to hide his spiking anxiety.

"My help? With what? Got a spider in your lab or something?" John asked with a sarcastic, slightly irritated tone while he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well... it's about Jennifer, it's her birthday tomorrow and... " Rodney trailed off, not taking long for his wall to drop and his nervous side to come through. He rubbed his left arm and looked away, trying to figure out how to finish the sentence.

"... And you got too engrossed in your work that you didn't get her anything?" Sheppard finished with an amused smile.

McKay blinked. "Wait, how did you know? Did Zelenka tell you?" He asked, eyes widening. He didn't realize that it would have been pretty impossible, considering Rodney had been with Sheppard the second he came through the stargate.

"What? No, just a lucky guess." Sheppard shook his head, amused by how easily panicked his friend could get.

Rodney relaxed a little, putting one hand on his hip while the other just gestured to John. "So? What should I get her?"

John shrugged, not really understanding why McKay came to him. "How should I know? Aren't you the one dating her? What does she like?"

The scientist opened his mouth to reply, but then realized.... He didn't know. He didn't know what Jennifer liked, aside from being a doctor. "I.... I don't know." He admitted in a quiet voice.

Sheppard quirked an eyebrow. "You don't know? Not even like... her favorite color? Her favorite movie? Anything?"

McKay felt guilty now and just slowly shook his head.

"Well perhaps you should go talk to her then, and listen to what she has to say, not just make the conversation about yourself." John gave him a firm poke to the shoulder at the end. Despite his words, his tone was soft enough not to sting too much.

"But what do I say? I'm not going to just flat out ask what she wants for her birthday." He hoped John had better advice than that.

"Of course not, but it's not the end of the world if she finds out, either. It's the thought that counts, you know." Sheppard explained, leaning against the nearby wall.

Rodney hummed briefly, letting his friend's words sink in. He supposed he could just... go to her room and find something to talk about? Sheppard helped give him a starting point anyway.

"Okay I guess I'll go talk to her." McKay said and turned to walk away, but then paused. "And... thank you, John."

"It's no problem." Sheppard shrugged and stood up straight again, before the two parted ways.

Rodney made his way to Jennifer's room, unsure if she was there, but it was the first place he thought to look, since Carson was using the Med Bay. He counted the numbers in his head as he passed by various people's rooms, repeating Jennifer's just under his breath.

He kept passing doors, weaving around various soldiers, scientists and other personnel, ignoring them as he was laser focused on finding her. Though perhaps he got a bit... too focused. One of the doors swung open right in front of him, not giving him the time to stop or react before he crashed right into it.

"Ouch! My nose!" He exclaimed, holding his face.

"Oh no! Rodney I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." It was Jennifer. Well, at least he found her.

"You hit my nose! I think it's bleeding!" He whined and pulled his hand away to see a little bit of blood on his fingertips. Dr. Keller came around the door and gently pulled his hands further away so she could see the damage. She looked to see if it was broken, though to Rodney it FELT broken.

"I don't think I broke it... come on, I'll clean it up and get a better look at it." Jennifer then took McKay's hand and led him into her room. He let out a surprised noise, his free hand moving back up to cover his nose, but followed her inside anyway.

John's words echoed in his head just as he was about to complain again. Don't make the conversation all about himself... gonna be easier said than done, especially with his nose hurting like this. He, oddly enough, kept his mouth shut as Jennifer took him to the bathroom and turned the light on. He lowered his hand while she grabbed some clean tissue and dabbed around his nostrils.

"Can you breathe okay?" She asked.

"Y-yes, I think so..." The pain was starting to fade from her touch, and he found himself smiling. There was a warm, soft feeling in his chest, something he often felt around her, but this was more intense.

"Okay... take this, use it to dab any blood away if it's still bleeding. But I think you'll be alright." She told him with a sweet smile, while putting a wad of fresh tissue in his hand.

"Thank you Jenni-uhm, Doctor Keller." Rodney fumbled, stuffing one hand in his pocket awkwardly.

The woman giggled lightly as she ushered him out of the bathroom. "You can call me Jennifer, I don't mind. We have been on a few dates you know." She gently nudged him on the shoulder with a fist. Rodney smiled wider, still awkward though.

"Y-yeah, I guess so... Hey uh, I was actually looking for you and was wondering if we could... talk a bit?" McKay suggested as he decided to take a seat and hopefully seem slightly less awkward if he was off his feet. Jennifer looked a bit concerned, or even worried though as she took a seat close to him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked worriedly, and Rodney could tell she was expecting bad news.

"What? Oh no no this isn't like, THAT kind of talk." He laughed nervously himself and rubbed the back of his neck. Jennifer visually relaxed though, even letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oooh okay, I'm sorry I just thought you... well, uhm, anyway. What did you want to talk about?" She adjusted herself on the seat and waited for McKay to speak.

"Well I uh... you. I... wanted to talk about you? Anything you wanna talk about." He gestured with his hands at the mention of 'anything' to empathize her vast options.

"Huh.... about me? Well okay... Sorry if I end up rambling-" She paused to laugh, but it was almost a sad sounding laugh. "I am not the best conversationalist."

"Hey it's fine, I'm not that great either." Rodney found himself assuring her, offering a comforting smile.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

The two ended up talking for hours, the day flew by without them even noticing. The others on Atlantis went about their day without disturbing them, letting them talk and talk, and then talk some more. They discussed all kinds of different things, some were happy, some were sad, some were a bit of venting from them both. Throughout the day, they scooted closer to each other and before either of them realized it, Jennifer was leaning against Rodney, her head on his chest, with his arm gently holding her shoulder. They sat like that for awhile in silence, just... enjoying the peace and quiet.

Miss Keller felt relaxed for once in such a long time, being a doctor for Atlantis was stressful and she could tell the usual tension McKay always had was fading too. Her eyes drifted to the nearby window and saw that it was actually nighttime now.

"Wow... look at that." She breathed quietly. They quite literally talked the day away.

Rodney followed her gaze and his eyes widened. "Oh no! I didn't get anything for your birthday!" He said in a panicked tone, standing up from the couch so quickly that Jennifer wasn't quite prepared for it and fell sideways on the couch.

She laughed warmly though, knowing he didn't mean to be rude. "Is that what this was about? Oh Rodney..." She smiled wider and sat upright, tucking some hair behind her ears that fell in her face.

"I don't need anything for my birthday, I already have what I wanted. Or, I HAD, before it got up and started freaking out." She giggled.

McKay shuffled nervously on his feet, but blinked in confusion. "It left? Where did it-" He looked around to try to figure out what she meant, until it dawned on him what she meant. "Oh... Oh I'm so sorry I just... I wanted to get you something and I can't believe the whole day passed by." He stammered and moved to sit down by her again.

"Just you being here, talking to me like this, it's what I've wanted the most. We're both always so busy, trying to save lives, we don't get any time to really... just talk and hang out." Jennifer explained to him, her hand reaching to hold one of his.

"Ah... That must be why Carson came?" He seemed to just realize Carson wasn't normally here.

"Yeah I asked him to, I asked to have today and tomorrow off and... I was hoping you would too." Atlantis was always in need of a doctor, and thankfully Carson agreed to fill in for a few days.

Rodney blinked, as if he was surprised that she actually wanted to spend time with him. "Oh... Okay uh..."

Jennifer laughed lightly again and lifted his arm up to duck under it, snuggling against his chest while she put his hand on her shoulder, as they were before he got up. "Just.... Stay, please?" She asked hopefully.

McKay looked down at her, still a bit in shock, but instinct helped and he tightened his arm around her shoulder, hugging her close. "Alright, I hope Zelenka doesn't blow the lab up or anything..." His tone sounded worried.

"You can deal with it after my birthday. Sheppard and the others will fix any issues." She told him in a firmer voice, but she was smiling as she closed her eyes.

He was tense again, but Jennifer could feel him start to relax too. It was pretty late, probably close to midnight and Dr. Keller felt herself start to drift off. She felt safe and comfortable, and for once, not alone.

An hour later, both of them were asleep, comfortable and happy in each other's presence. Their worries faded to bliss, with the knowledge that they had tomorrow off to do whatever they wished together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Psst, does anyone else here feel a bit of Déjà vu from the name 'Dr. Keller'? <3


End file.
